


The One Moment

by jordahparrish



Category: The Lodge (UK TV)
Genre: F/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-08
Updated: 2017-11-08
Packaged: 2019-01-30 22:44:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12662955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jordahparrish/pseuds/jordahparrish
Summary: At the end of 2x15 we found out that Ben and Danielle had already started dating, so what did we miss between their quick conversation in 2x14 and them entering the yellow tent?





	The One Moment

“Danielle!” Ben called out as he rushed to stand up, “Danielle, wait!” 

The girl had already been running off since she had found the painting, she turned back to face him, her smile falling down into a frown once again, “what?” She looked at him expectantly, he didn’t say anything for a moment, he just stood and looked at her, she rolled her eyes, “are you just going to stand there? In case you didn’t notice, I’ve got some fantastic news for both Skye and Alex! We have to figure out what the stupid clue means and then we’re one step closer to finding the gold,” she turned around and began to walk off.

Ben sighed before running to keep up with her, he grabbed her shoulder and spun her back, “what’s the clue?”

Danielle shrugged and pulled a face, “I don’t know, something like… ‘follow the line to the stars?’ We have absolutely no clue what it’s supposed to mean.”

Ben cocked his head to the side and then held out his hand, “let me see the painting.”

Danielle hesitantly passed him the painting, once it was in Ben’s hand he unravelled it, he looked at the painting and then glanced up at Danielle who was watching him with a sad expression, “well?”

Ben turned so Danielle could also see the painting, “the lodge isn’t the only building in this picture,” he looked around the area and then quickly led Danielle over to a picnic bench were they could both sit down. He laid the painting down and pointed to the other building, “this is the old observatory,” he smiled to Danielle as she leaned over the table to look at it, “Sean and I used to bike up there sometimes,” he paused and then looked at Danielle with wide eyes, “we found it by following the old train lines!”

“Follow the line to the stars!” Danielle shrieked and then quickly wrapped her arms around Ben and held him in a tight hug, “Ben, thank you so much, you figured it out!”

Ben laughed softly as he wrapped his own arms around Danielle’s waist, “no problem,” he whispered, he closed his eyes and let the comfort of the hug sink in. He realised that he didn’t want to pull away from this hug – and instead he just wanted to continue holding onto Daniele, it was… It was nice, perfect.

Eventually, Danielle pulled back, she tucked some of her hair behind her ear as she avoided eye contact with Ben. She then stood up, “we should… Go find Skye and Alex,” she pressed her lips together and picked up the painting, rolling it up again. She began to walk away but Ben called her name once again.

“Danielle, I… Have to get changed,” he offered her a smile, “would you mind just waiting for me? Then I’ll come with you?”

“I suppose,” Danielle put on a smile and sat down at the bench again, “but be quick.”

“I will.”

Danielle waited patiently for Ben to return, sitting at the bench with her legs crossed, she played with the painting as she waited for him. She thought about the hug, perhaps it was nothing. She knew he’d get back with Skye when the opportunity came, and it wouldn’t be too long until Skye ended things with Sean, would it? Even Danielle could tell that Skye wasn’t happy with Sean. Instead, she’d find happiness with Ben, and Danielle would have nobody. Of course.

Ben finally returned to the bench, wearing another checked shirt and his burgundy hoodie over the top, he smiled as he approached her, she stood up but he held out a hand, “wait,” he cleared his throat, “before we go…” he sat down at the bench again and grabbed Danielle’s hand, gently pulling her to sit down again, “I want to have that talk.”

Danielle sighed and looked anywhere except at Ben, “go on then, just tell me it was a mistake that we were going to kiss – tell me you don’t want me and you want to be with Skye and-“

“I want to be with you, Danielle,” Ben let out a laugh after he spoke, watching as Danielle’s face changed, “I want to be with you. You and I would be something new, and possibly amazing, I’d like to see how it goes,” he began to grin whilst Danielle did the same, the girl covered her mouth trying to hide her smile, “so, what do you say?”

“Yes! Oh my God, Ben,” she laughed loudly and lunged forward to wrap her arms around Ben, “you really think I’d say no to you?”

Ben hugged Danielle back, still smiling, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so happy to date me.”

Danielle pulled back and looked into Ben’s eyes, “that’s insane,” she laughed, “Ana and Skye both should have been overjoyed,” she looked down and held onto his hand, “you’re… really amazing.”

“Thank you.”

Danielle stayed looking at Ben for a moment, and Ben smiled back to her, it felt like he was doing the right thing. It was the right choice.

“Oh,” Danielle suddenly yelped, standing up again, “we have to go find Skye and Alex! You can tell them what you know!”

Ben grabbed Danielle’s hand as he stood up, “right, but uh,” he looked at her, continuing to smile, “can we… Keep this,” he gestured between them, “a secret? I’ll tell everyone soon, I promise, but for now… For now, I feel like we should be the least of their worries?”

Danielle nodded, “yeah, that’ll be fine.”

“I’ll tell them when the time is right,” Ben smiled and quickly pressed a kiss on Danielle’s cheek, “thank you so much.”

Danielle smiled up at him and then held the painting between them, “let’ go!”

They ran around searching for Skye and Alex, they looked in various tents, every now and then Ben would place a hand on Danielle’s back whilst they walked and she enjoyed that. She came to a stop near a yellow tent when she heard a familiar voice shout ‘it was Danielle’s fault’.

She held the painting tight whilst Ben came to a stop behind her, she turned to Ben with a frown, ready to leave the two bickering in the tent.

“Okay, okay, it was my fault.”

“No, I asked you to look after it,” Skye spoke in a soft voice, “but only because I was too busy with the race. It was my fault too.”

Danielle began to smile again and Ben playfully bumped into her slightly to get her to move, she quickly entered the tent with Ben following.

“Aw, this is all very sweet, but,” she flicked out the painting and gave them both a proud grin, “and,” she held up a hand, “for my next trick,” she twirled her hand and pointed to Ben, “tell ‘em!”

Ben looked from Danielle to the other two girls, “follow the line to the stars, right?” He noticed Danielle smiling at him as he spoke, she was clearly overjoyed at what they had discovered, and what they had decided on, “I know what that means, I know where the gold is,” he smiled as Alex and Skye shared a look of excitement, they then both looked back at him with an expectant look, “the old observatory,” he pointed to the building on the painting, “there are old trainlines that lead to it. Sean and I used to bike up there all the time, it’s a really nice place,” he turned to Danielle who was still watching him with pride, “it’ll be getting dark soon, I suggest we go tomorrow.”

“It seems like a long walk from the lodge,” she pulled a face.

“Then we bike,” Ben shrugged, he noticed the expression change on Danielle’s face.

Alex seemed to notice it do, “oh my God, now that’s something I want to see, you on a bike,” she began to laugh.

“Shut up,” Danielle hissed quietly, and then she turned to Ben, “I don’t have a bike…”

“I’ve got one at home that you can use if you want,” he smiled to her.

“That’d be nice,” she nodded.

Skye tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, “can Josh come as well? I promised him I’d spend a day with him, I think he’d like to be involved.”

“That’d be great, the more the merrier, right?” Ben smiled, “so we meet tomorrow, I’d say at eleven, that should give us plenty of time to search the observatory.”

“Yes,” Skye nodded, “text me where you want us to meet, I’ve got to get back to my dad,” she smiled, “I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

Skye paused before leaving, and quickly wrapped her arms around Ben, “thank you again, Ben, thank you so much.”

Alex watched as Danielle turned away from the situation, not wanting to see the pair hug, she tried not to laugh at the sight – poor little Danielle. Skye then rushed off and Alex finally let out a chuckle of laughter, “smile, Danielle,” she taunted the girl, “we’re going to find the gold,” she began to leave the tent, patting Ben on the chest and walking between the pair, she glanced back briefly and watched Ben and Danielle share a look. She tutted to get their attention, “see you kids later!”

Once she left the tent, Ben looked down to Danielle who was pressing her lips together, “so,” he whispered, stepping closer to her, “do you want to… Do something? Together?”

Danielle nodded eagerly, “yeah, yeah!”

“What would you like to do?”

“Uh,” Danielle looked around as she thought, “do you want to come to mine?”

Ben nodded, “yeah, we can do that, I’ve got to get my bike, but we can just walk to yours if you’d like.”

“It would be nice,” she agreed, and they then left the tent together, walking side by side. Ben kept his hands in his pockets – he’d reach across and hold Danielle’s hand but it would be best to keep it secret until the time was right. 

The conversation on the way to Danielle’s home was calm and casual, Danielle would sometimes express how happy she was that she had Ben at last. She swung her arms excitedly as she walked and Ben was glad to see how happy she was, she couldn’t hide it at all. They didn’t take too long to get to Danielle’s house, Ben quickly placed his bike up against the wall of the house.

“Mum isn’t home,” Danielle sighed, noticing the car that wasn’t on the drive, “so… I can make us dinner if you’d like. I make an amazing vegetarian lasagne,” she boasted with a sweet smile.

“I do like lasagne,” Ben hummed, “I’ve never had a vegetarian lasagne though.”

“You’ll love it,” she laughed softly, “come on,” she pulled him inside and set her bag down on the dining table, “do you want to help me make dinner?”

“I can give it a try,” he smiled, “but if you’re the lasagne master then you should definitely take control.”

“I’ll be a great teacher,” Danielle winked and then moved through to the kitchen. She quickly began preparing the food, asking Ben to grab things for her every now and then. He’d do as asked, sometimes clueless to where it was kept so Danielle would direct him. It was sweet, and they both loved having fun with it. Ben kissed Danielle’s cheek multiple times throughout the preparation. Danielle would always try to catch the kiss with her own lips but she usually missed, and they’d then laugh about it briefly. 

“This is fun,” Ben commented as Danielle placed the lasagne in the oven, she looked up at him before he continued speaking, “we should definitely do this more often – you teach me how to cook your vegetarian dishes and I teach you how to ride bikes, and climb mountains.”

Danielle groaned, “don’t threaten me like that.”

Ben laughed and placed an arm around Danielle’s waist to pull her closer, “at least once?”

“Maybe,” Danielle shrugged, “if I’m in a good enough mood.”

Ben leaned down and pressed a kiss on Danielle’s lips, Danielle made sure to remember that moment. Ben’s lips against her own was all she wanted, and now she had it. When Ben pulled away he smiled down at her, a genuine smile that warmed her heart.

They talked throughout most of the night, at one point Ben started to sing a song that had been playing in his head and Danielle sang along with him, they danced around the kitchen joyfully – not serious at all, both of them just having a great time. Danielle wound up in Ben’s arms, they were both laughing as they ceased the singing.

“I’m so glad,” he held onto Danielle’s hand and looked into her eyes, “that we’re giving this a chance.”

“So am I,” Danielle smiled, she stepped forward and pressed a kiss on Ben’s lips, the both of them stayed for a moment, sharing the bliss feeling. It was pure for them. She pulled back and instantly pressed her lips together before speaking again, “you know… I’d like it if you… If you could stay the night? Just so we can talk more.”

Ben nodded slowly, “I think I can do that.”

Danielle grinned, she looked down at their hands and then back up into Ben’s eyes, “I really am the luckiest girl, you know that?”

The rest of the night went by smoothly, they had had fun together and that was important. Ben loved seeing Danielle smile, and she loved that he made him smile so easily. They got to be happy, they finally had their chance. After eating their successfully cooked dinner, they decided to spend the night talking, Danielle explained to him that she had always hoped to be close to him. She had dated Sean in the past, but part of her always liked Ben. Ben admitted similar feelings, how he had been somewhat jealous when Sean had Danielle – but he had pushed those feelings into the back of his mind. After hours of simply talking, they finally made their way to Danielle’s bedroom, Ben let Danielle get changed into her pyjamas whilst he waited outside. Once she was ready she had invited him in. Lying on the bed and cuddling had made their night that much more perfect, Ben had taken off his jacket and even his checked shirt so he was now only in a t-shirt and jeans, he kept his arms wrapped around Danielle as they continued to talk, still expressing their happiness – perhaps Danielle had continuously repeated ‘I’m so happy’, and Ben had laughed about her repetition, but instead of calling her out on it he’d simply say ‘I know’.

It was perfect, and Danielle couldn’t wait until the others knew. In all honesty, Ben couldn’t wait either.


End file.
